Thanks to a tweet by Doug Laney, VP, Gartner Research, I came across the phrase “business intelligence” in a book published by D. Appleton and Company, in 1865 — 148 years before this blog post. Page 210 of this book mentions Sir Henry Furnese, and the techniques he used to realize financial gain. The particular sentence that Laney called out was "[Sir Henry Furnese] maintained a complete and perfect train of business intelligence." In other words, the need for, and the usage of, the phrase “business intelligence” is centuries old. So what’s new about this term today?

Enterprises invest in ERP/CRM because they are seeking an opportunity to standardize business processes while rationalizing siloed environments. Consumer-driven markets have increased the need for large organizations to listen to their customers, driving the adoption of CRM applications enabled by mobile devices and social media. But investing in these packages is only the first step. Companies must follow up with the right steps to maximize their return on these software investments.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I’m looking forward to going out for a candle-lit dinner, roses, the whole works. But I wonder. Who is my Valentine this year? Looking across the Enterprise IT landscape, I see several entities that have a vital role in sustaining my presence. Yet I’m really confused about who is the one best suited for the critical role of Valentine for Big Data.

Let me explain in detail the candidate Valentines and the reason for my confusion.